Mayor Rob Ford, after calling Toronto the “safest city in the world” earlier in the day, declared war on gangs by late Tuesday afternoon, blaming them for the carnage at a Scarborough BBQ that left two dead and two dozen injured.

While visiting the scene of the shooting Tuesday morning, Mr. Ford urged Torontonians to “move on.”

“We have a couple of unfortunate, isolated incidents,” he said. “I know this is the safest city in the world, I’ve always said that and I truly believe that it is. And the numbers show that. So, everyone has to move on and carry on with their life, and the most important thing right now is that we apprehend these suspects and let the courts proceed as they may.”

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But by late afternoon, his tone had changed.

“The events of [Monday] night are heartbreaking. A fun, family-focused community event quickly turned into a violent nightmare. Two innocent young people are dead because some idiot thugs decided to settle a disagreement with violence. That is not acceptable in our city. I will not accept it. I am furious about it.

Darren Calabrese/National Post

“It’s time to say ‘enough is enough.’ It is time to take action against the spineless cowards causing this violence.”

He blamed gang violence for the outbreak of violence. “Some people have suggested there is a gang war brewing. I don’t know if that’s true. But, I do know it’s time for us to declare war on these violent gangs.”

Mr. Ford said he had spoken to Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty to discuss gang violence and vowed to make a similar call to the Prime Minister.

“We must use every legal means to make life for these thugs miserable, to put them behind bars, or to run them out of town. We will not rest until being a gang member is a miserable, undesirable life.”

His earlier, less combative comments had drawn criticism from at least one councillor.

“Math doesn’t matter when you’re hiding in your basement,” said Adam Vaughan. “Yes, statistically we’re a very safe city but we have some very scared neighbourhoods that need our help and it has got to come in a flood of ideas. To declare us safe and not to recognize the fear is to turn a blind eye to probably the most significant problem facing the city right now.”

Mr. Vaughan wants councillors to “have a conversation” before the next city council meeting in October about funding for Toronto Community Housing, about adding youth workers in vulnerable communities, and looking at police staffing levels.

“We have fewer officers on the street, and fewer people patrolling than at any time in my life, in particular in the last two years,” said Mr. Vaughan, who blames Mayor Rob Ford’s “austerity budget” for pushing a hiring freeze in the force. He said he hopes the police chief’s decision to redeploy officers into Scarborough is not at the expense of other areas that need them. “Otherwise we’re chasing gunfire around the city and not staying put and remedying problems that were significant enough to demand the resources,” said Mr. Vaughan.

Facebook; Family photo

Councillor Michael Thompson, who had been invited to the party but could not attend, blasted his colleague for injecting political rhetoric and grandstanding into Monday’s tragic events. “There is a lot of austerity talk at City Hall, but really the resources are available to invest in communities,” he said, noting that the city, the federal government and private donors have dedicated more then $200-million to at risk areas in recent years.

“We could spend $1-billion more and you could still have these hardened individuals who will take matters in their own hands and resolve disputes with guns,” he said. “I believe it’s important for us to invest in our communities… but I don’t believe you simply throw more money and that’s the solution. I don’t think the outreach workers would have prevented anything last night and I dare say they would have been running for their lives.”

Mark Blinch/Reuters
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Scarborough East councillor Ron Moeser expressed outrage at the “senseless act of violence” and offered condolences to the victims.

“The Danzig neighbourhood where this incident took place has been a quiet community and an incident of this magnitude is both shocking and unexpected,” said Mr. Moeser in a statement. His office is working with Toronto police’s 43 division and TCHC officials to help people feel safe.

“A community that is celebrating should have every expectation to enjoy themselves on a summer evening, and not have this scale of violence brought into their community,” he said.

Mr. Thompson, who represents another part of Scarborough, said he felt “totally violated” by the brazen shooting.

“There is a trend that’s taking place, a lot of these public violence shooting episodes are taking place. One is too many,” said Mr. Thompson, vice-chairman of the Toronto Police Services Board.

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Statement by Mayor Rob Ford Toronto is a safe city. It’s one of the safest cities in the world. Toronto is a great place to live and raise a family. It’s a great place to invest and create jobs. However, we cannot be complacent. We cannot stand by and watch criminals bring violence to our streets and backyards. It’s time for all of us to work together to keep our city safe. The events of last night are heartbreaking. A fun, family-focused community event quickly turned into a violent nightmare. Two innocent young people are dead because some idiot thugs decided to settle a disagreement with violence. That is not acceptable in our city. I will not accept it. I am furious about it. It’s time to say “enough is enough.” It is time to take action against the spineless cowards causing this violence. This is about gangs and gang violence. Frankly, it doesn’t matter if they hurt people with guns or knives, bats or bricks. There is no room in Toronto for violent gangs. Some people have suggested there is a gang war brewing. I don’t know if that’s true. But, I do know it’s time for us to declare war on these violent gangs. Earlier today, I spoke with Premier McGuinty. I hope to meet with him in the near future to discuss how we can work together to combat gang violence. I will also be calling on the Prime Minister for his continued support as well. We must use every legal means to make life for these thugs miserable, to put them behind bars, or to run them out of town. We will not rest until being a gang member is a miserable, undesirable life. We will need your help to do this. And you can start helping right now. Hundreds of people were at the party Monday night. Dozens of people saw what happened. Many people know who the gang members are. We have the greatest police service in the world, but they need your help. If you were at the party last night – or if you know anything at all that may help police arrest these criminals – I strongly encourage you to call 43 Division police at 416.808.4300. Or, if you want to remain anonymous, call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS. We are all in this together. With your help, we will catch these criminals and get them off our streets. – 30 –